The King's Servant
by Lennon-80
Summary: Merlin becomes sick of being disrespected, but Arthur, being an oblivious clotpole he usually is, notices nothing.


**AN: **Hello, hello! This short fic was written as a gift for the awesomest Merthur-shipping caps locker, also known as Tamara. I hope there aren't too many grammar mistakes, and I tried my best to keep the characters in character. What else? There's not much to say, so... enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Seriously, if I owned Merlin, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? (I probably would, though)

_The King's Servant_

If somebody told Merlin, a young warlock, four years ago that he'd be king Arthur's personal servant, he would laugh it off and think they were crazy.

But there he was now, proudly sitting beside Arthur, the king of Camelot, as his loyal personal servant. It's been four years since Merlin first met Arthur, an obnoxious, self-centered prince, but in these four years both of them became noble men ready to fight for good. Even though Arthur would never admit it, Merlin knew the new king considered him a friend. Arthur spent most of his time nagging about Merlin's laziness (which was just a product of Arthur's imagination) and inability to stay out of trouble, but he was always there when Merlin needed protection. Little did he know, Merlin was actually protecting him. Young warlock's magic was still, surprisingly, a secret. If Arthur hadn't been so oblivious, Merlin's magic would've been exposed a long time ago.

Merlin leaned toward Arthur's ear and whispered, „I'm proud of you, Sire."

„Shut up, Merlin," Arthur mumbled, not bothering to look at Merlin. He was looking straight ahead of him, where many people, including Guinevere and Sir Leon, were talking and laughing. It was dinner time and the hall was full of people. „Tell me, Merlin," he said, turning to his servant. „Should I be worried?"

Merlin looked at Guinevere and Sir Leon, then back at Arthur. „No," he answered, shaking his head. „Guinevere loves you, you know that. She-„

„Guinevere?" Arthur asked, looking like he genuinely didn't know what Merlin was talking about.

Merlin pointed at the laughing pair. „I thought you were..." he started, but a grimace Arthur made made him shut up and shrug his shoulders. „Sorry," he added quietly.

„I'm not talking about Guinevere, you idiot," Arthur said, pouting his lips. He did it so often it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. „It's Morgana I was thinking about."

„I know you're a king now, but you can't have both," Merlin said, making Arthur's jaw drop.

„Merlin!"

„I'm only telling the truth, Sire."

„Merlin, that is enough!"

If all eyes in the hall weren't on Arthur and Merlin before, they definitely were at that moment. Guinevere, along with majority of people in there, looked confused. The only exception was Sir Gwaine, who was looking at the king and his servant with a wide grin on his face.

Arthur awkwardly looked around the hall, and loudly announced, „I hope you enjoy the rest of the dinner. Excuse me." He got up and, followed by massive bowing down, walked out of the hall. Few seconds later, he returned and gave Merlin a look which meant only one thing.

„Coming, Sire!" Merlin yelled, causing people to look at him again. He had no time to look around, but he could swear he saw Gaius shake his head.

**...**

„You embarrassed me in front of my people, Merlin!" Arthur started his usual rant when his servant closed the door of his chambers. Unbuttoning his red shirt, he turned around and gave Merlin a disapproving look. „You just had to be an annoying little... fool?"

„Ouch, that hurt," Merlin mumbled sarcastically. „I didn't do anything, you were the one going crazy over my statement."

„And you were the one who misinterpreted _my _statement!" Arthur shrieked, throwing his shirt at Merlin, who caught it and started folding it.

„You should have corrected me," Merlin said, putting Arthur's shirt in the closet.

„I _tried_ to, but you wouldn't shut up!" Arthur replied angrily, and threw himself on the bed. „Honestly, Merlin, I'm a king now. Show some respect, would you?"

Merlin moved closer to king's bed and glared at Arthur, who rolled his eyes and turned around. Merlin moved to the other side of the bed, so that he was facing Arthur again. Arthur, whose eyes were closed, mumbled something under his breath. Merlin spent ten seconds just standing there, until Arthur slowly opened his eyes and muttered, „What do you want, Merlin?"

„Why were you thinking about Morgana?" Merlin asked. He sat at the end of the bed, looking eagerly at Arthur. Arthur lifted himself in sitting position, showing his bare chest.

„Merlin," he mumbled, rubbing his face with his right hand. „I'm too tired for this right now. Come back in the morning." With that said, he threw himself back on the pillow.

Merlin was still sitting on the bed, hesitating to pressure Arthur into telling him. Seeing Arthur so peaceful and relaxed, he smiled to himself and decided to leave the new king to rest. He had the whole Camelot to look after, and he really deserved some good sleep.

Merlin left Arthur's chambers and started walking down stone hallways. Dinner had probably ended because all he could hear were his own footsteps. He enjoyed it; serving Arthur meant spending all day with him, and that made keeping his secret safe very hard. Moments like these, no matter how short they were, meant a lot to Merlin.

„Merlin?" a familiar voice interrupted Merlin's thoughts and made him stop walking. „What are you doing?"

Merlin turned around to see Lord Agravaine, Arthur's uncle and right hand, looking at him suspiciously. He was wearing his usual black robes, but something about him seemed different to Merlin.

„Walking back to my chambers, Sir," Merlin said. Lord Agravaine moved closer to him, still eyeing him like he had done something wrong.

After short silence, Lord Agravaine said, „I don't remember seeing you at dinner table."

„I left with Arthur half an hour ago," Merlin replied, then quickly added, „King Arthur, that is."

Lord Agravaine kept staring at Merlin, making him feel uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut them when he heard footsteps behind them. „Very well. Excuse me," he said, bypassed Merlin and swiftly disappeared behind the corner. Merlin had no interest in dealing with anybody else, so he continued walking to his chambers.

**...**

„So, you're telling me that Lord Agravaine, my uncle, whom I've known my whole life, and my right hand, who has been with me through everything, acted... suspiciously last night?"

„I repeated it five times, Arthur," Merlin said, leaning against the wall. „I'm not repeating it again."

Merlin told Arthur about his weird encounter with Lord Agravaine first thing in the morning, but Arthur saw nothing weird about it.

„You're being ridiculous, Merlin," Arthur said, giving Merlin an annoyed look. „Stop trying to be the centre of attention."

„Gaius believes me!" Merlin yelled, angrily pushing himself off the wall and walking toward Arthur. „He knows Agravaine knows about Em-„ before he could blurt out something he shouldn't mention, he reminded himself that Arthur didn't know anything about him being Emrys. As a matter of fact, Arthur knew nothing about Emrys, so Merlin didn't really have a decent proof, or for that matter, a reason to think of Agravaine as someone suspicious.

Arthur frowned, looking at Merlin like he was sick. „Merlin," he said, sounding much calmer and friendlier. Merlin felt relieved; Arthur had never had an eye for details, but he was still worried that the king might ask him something about Emrys. Arthur reached out and put his hand on Merlin's shoulder. „I know why you're acting like this."

„No, you don't."

Arthur sighed and put his other hand on Merlin's right shoulder. Knowing Arthur, that was the closest thing to hug from him Merlin would ever get. „I do. You're jealous."

Merlin's eyes widened in shock. He tried to shake Arthur's hands off his shoulders, but the king's firm was too strong. „Jealous of who? Of you?"

A loud knock on the door interrupted Arthur in answering Merlin's question. „Come in!"

„Excuse me, Sire, but-„ Sir Leon started talking as he opened the door, but quickly shut up when he saw the scene in front of him. King Arthur, bare chested, gripping his servant's shoulders _very_ firmly. He awkwardly looked away, and then said, „I'll come back later."

„No, wait!" Arthur yelled before Sir Leon had time to get out. „I was only telling Merlin I sensed his jealousy of you, that's all. What do you need me for?"

Merlin gasped, feeling a strong urge to curse Arthur. Luckily for him, Arthur released Merlin and walked toward Sir Leon, who was telling him about some important things they had to discuss. Arthur then turned back to Merlin, who was still too angry to say anything nice, so he kept his mouth shut. „Merlin, go get my shirt and make me some breakfast." Merlin clenched his fists, desperately trying to calm down. When he didn't move, Arthur added, „Hurry up, you lazy arse!"

Having decided it's best to stay quiet, Merlin glared at both Arthur and Sir Leon, and left the room.

**...**

„You didn't obey his orders? Merlin, you're his servant, your job is to serve him!" Gaius asked in shock when Merlin explained him why he was with him, in their chambers, and not picking up Arthur's shirt and making him breakfast.

„No, I'm done with that," Merlin said, walking up and down the room. „All he does is disrespect me. After all I've done for him, he still thinks of me as of lazy, ignorant fool whose main purpose in life is to serve him!"

„You're forgetting something, Merlin," Gaius replied. „Your duty is to protect Arthur. Don't you remember what The Great Dragon told you about your destiny?"

„Yeah, well, destiny can change," Merlin hissed, speeding up his pace.

„It cannot, and you know it."

The young warlock stopped walking. „It will change if I go to his chambers and tell him I'm done serving him, Gaius."

Gaius gave Merlin a long look, the one he'd usually give him whenever he was really considering what he had said. „Fine," he said after a few moments. „But don't come crying to me when you realize you were wrong."

Feeling encouraged, Merlin smiled and ran out the door. He entered Arthur's chambers feeling a bit nervous, but he was so eager in his intentions that he didn't care about anything but showing Arthur he deserved something he had never given him: respect. When he didn't find anyone in Arthur's chambers, Merlin went to the kitchen, where he found Sir Gwaine and Sir Percival stealing food, who told him Arthur was probably with Sir Leon, but they didn't know where exactly that was. After unsuccessfully looking at some more places, he returned to his and Gaius' apartment, feeling a bit disappointed that he'd have to wait to tell Arthur the news.

His disappointment quickly got replaced by excitement when he found Arthur talking to Gaius.

„Ah, Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed when he saw his soon-to-be-ex servant. „I was looking for you."

„I was looking for you too," Merlin said, trying to conclude if Gaius had told Arthur about his intentions. „Arthur, we need to talk."

„I agree," Arthur nodded and started walking toward the door. „I'm starving! Come with me, Merlin."

„No," Merlin said, making Arthur frown and pout. „I'm not listening to your orders anymore."

„Merlin, don't be ridiculous," Arthur said, rolling his eyes. He reached for Merlin's hand, but Merlin stepped back, out of his reach. „You're my servant and I am ordering you to come with me."

„I-I don't want to be your servant anymore," Merlin said, trying to sound confident, but his voice started to shake. Arthur was looking at him in disbelief for a while, but then laughed.

„Merlin, stop-„

„I am sick and tired of you acting like I'm some lazy idiot who does nothing but lay around all day, when in reality, I'm the one who keeps your clothes clean and your stomach full. I may not be a knight, but I was with you through both good and bad things, and I have never left your side, not even once, and for that, I deserve respect. Until you give me that, I am not following your orders."

Arthur spent the next minute staring at Merlin, blinking like a confused puppy, trying to say something, but he eventually just deeply inhaled and then exhaled, and said, „Fair enough."

Merlin's mouth stayed shut, so Arthur continued, „I... accept your opinion, and I will try to be fairer to you."

Merlin was still silent.

„And... if you want to, you can come have breakfast with me."

„And?" Merlin asked, trying to sound indifferent.

„And I will personally cook us something," Arthur said, rolling his eyes in frustration. He had never cooked for two people before, but he was ready to try. „You won't have to do anything, I promise."

Merlin tried his best not to smile, but he laughed out loud and nodded happily. „Gaius," he said as he turned to face his mentor, „I think you'll have to eat lunch by yourself, too!"

Gaius laughed as he watched the king and his loyal servant rush out of the room.

* * *

><p><em>Please review! :)<em>


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